I've gone after high ranking Nexians with a Syndi char. It just happen very, VERY rarely because of the workings of the 'rules'. Allies get hunted last/are ALWAYS given an appropriate amount of time to buy out their contract/place a higher one. If Nexus Baddy A had a bounty of 1500, and they placed a bounty of 50 cps, you better bet I'd be going after Nexus Baddy A. That never happened though. Nexus Baddy A/B/C/D etc. ALWAYS bought out their price fast, and placed high sum bounties to "distract" in the interim/afterwards as a little token.
Now, if those "rules" got changed, then things would likely end up differently.
My point was more along the lines that this is an offer exclusive to one cabal (historically).
The point Im making is that this is a unique feature of the Nexus cabal. On the same note we can also say there have been brief periods where Warmaster and Savant have not warred. Or where Watcher and Tribunal have not been at war etc.
There is always an exception to the rule however there is an issue with the rule existing. I really think that for a cabal which has the strongest cabal skills this is probably one advantage they don't need. (Lets not start a debate about cabal skills. But in comparison for form and function they are up there.)
Back to the point, from where I sit the Syndicate has a very strong IC reason to keep the alliance with the nexus alive. If you want to be a part if that, find out how and why in game.
The syndicate is is a cabal that is more or less a grouping of individuals of like minds but the RP of the cabal is completely mailable. As far as I can tell, the climate there is strongly based on the leadership. If a player desires more of a mob like cabal, Roll a Syndicate and get to E/L then change it.
Back to the point, from where I sit the Syndicate has a very strong IC reason to keep the alliance with the nexus alive. If you want to be a part if that, find out how and why in game.
The syndicate is is a cabal that is more or less a grouping of individuals of like minds but the RP of the cabal is completely mailable. As far as I can tell, the climate there is strongly based on the leadership. If a player desires more of a mob like cabal, Roll a Syndicate and get to E/L then change it.
Whatever Syndicate are trying to achieve is a completely different issue to what is being discussed.
Getting E or L to change this merely shifts the 'problem' (if it can be called such) to another cabal.
I think you're missing the point of the post. I don't see any reason why Syndicate shouldn't be allied with whoever they like - I just think that Nexus shouldn't get a benefit like they do (over and above any other cabal with an alliance) from it.
If the same situation applied historically to Savant - Watcher - whoever - it would be the same argument or point.
I don't see any reason why Syndicate shouldn't be allied with whoever they like - I just think that Nexus shouldn't get a benefit like they do (over and above any other cabal with an alliance) from it.
So lets see if I got this one:
You see no problem with Syndicate allying whoever they choose, unless it's Nexus, because they are the cabal with the strongest skills and they shouldn't have an ally that's currently?
Nope. The symbiotic relationship of Nexus/Syndicate overshadows and trumps any other possible partnership. No other partnership exists like this and even if Syndicate were to pair up with another, it would never reach the potential of that partnership.
This, while exaggerated by the current make-up of Nexus, is still plausible with almost any variation of cabal member representation. Syndicate has, and always will be, the cabal with the greatest number of players, right next to Nexus who do not dwindle until there is an incredibly strong Knight cabal to counter it, which will remain difficult as long as both Nexus and Syndicate remain high in number and with most of the high caliber players. All of this, of course, is taking away from the fact no other cabal alliance gains as much symbiotic benefits.
The issue is BOTH that the partnership is a ridiculous power display AND that it will never exist in FL's current state for anyone else.
EDIT: I apologize if I stuffed any words in your mouth, Aulian. Mid-terms are distracting, but I'm having a hard time keeping my mouth shut these days.
Knight usually have more members than Nexus. This has been that way almost constantly for the last 2 - 3 years.
Usually, but they are both more prone to the up/down cycle that Syndicate rarely sees. Syndicate may as well be an extension of Nexus due to their benefits provided.
Why don't Knights strike some RP and try to offer something to other factions? Or Tribunal.. OR Savant..? Spend some cabal points and time IG to create this benefit.
This has all been offered in the past through RP, but faction heads have been to stubborn to relinquish some control or compromise. IE: Tribunal could give leeway to flags against allies. Knight could offer defenses to cabals making it MUCH harder to take a standard or something.
The problem with these threads is you bring it up and talk about it for a few pages, we get off topic, then it dies.
The Staff can hardly deny, within reason, any idea/concept if it not only has RP basis and PK function that doesn't severely alter the game. In this case, I don't think it would. Instead of saying it "needs fixed" offer solutions to fix it or come up with some concepts and take it not only here, prayer forum, but in game.
Instead of TAKING AWAY from FL because "its not fair", why not ADD to FL and make other alliances JUST as strong and JUST as desirable?
Imagine the fun Knight would have if they gained a bonus from allying with Tribunal? Tribunal is the single most influential cabal in the GAME. I'm SURE they could come up with some awesome laws or skills to gain from.
And, if all else fails, make it so everyone can buy out bounties, but allies get it a bit cheaper.
Syndicate's biggest boon for allied cabals is a mini pk shield and prioritizing targets. These aren't game mechanics, but rather functions of the cabal via player action. Can we think of anything similar for other cabals that will make allying with them more attractive?
Syndicate's biggest boon for allied cabals is a mini pk shield and prioritizing targets. These aren't game mechanics, but rather functions of the cabal via player action.
That's not all of it. There are hardcoded benefits Syndicate's allies get from Syndicate activity:
1.When you bounty targets and they are collected, you get back the resources you invested i.e. Thulgan can put 10k CP bounty on Sylf and when Sylf gets collected, Thulgan gets those CP back. This allows to Syndicate allies to fill top three with bounties that are extremely fat. Only downside is that you must have a very large pool of CP to "invest".
Buying out bounties - while top 3 can not be bought out, due to mechanic #1, it's hard for a cabal that is not an ally to Syndicate to compete with the ally in prices, and nearly impossible for a prolonged amount of time.
There is also the small mechanic that allows you to check who's allied to who and who wars who.
So, if we are going to suggest benefits to Cabals for being an ally to another cabal, they should be equal to those three.
As for PK shield and prioritizing, there is no such thing - quite the contrary if you ask me. When I was a syndi, Nexus were always my priority, simply because if they did buyout, I get absolutely nothing out of it. So if there was a bountied Nexus, I would go straight to him and knock his face off and collect his bounty before he could react. This was back when I played Nashmurlan. Of course, I kept a good face before Thulgan (I even bribed him once with 2 million gold for something I did, can't remember what, so he wouldn't complain to Brehan).
Tribunal could provide reduced sentences to members of their allied cabal... and provide warrants at the behest of a single lawful witness of said allied cabal... -all within reason- (a leniency effect) (maybe even a pass on applied laws? meaning, the laws that come and go by Council wouldn't be applied to members of the allied cabal)
Herald (not knowing what the revamp entails) could be preferential to their allied cabal providing the greatest medium for public relations and historical remembrance. (which would be really interesting and cool with the rumor aspect)
Watcher could promise not to raid cities in their Allied cabals territory? (if there was a change in game mechanic... raiding cities could make it easier for the warring cabals to plant their flag in said cities, thus being allied with Watcher (not applying this to Syndicate) would provide a noticeable benefit)
sadly, I can't really think of a Savant/Warmaster/Nexus application without effecting game mechanics... :/ (even the Herald/Watcher suggestions rely on a game mechanic)
Some of this may need to be coded, some could easily be changed by players:
Tribunal could:
Ignore that allied players don't sheath;
Give stupidly low sentences when allied players attack and/or kill other players in town;
Don't attempt to hunt players down until they 'finish' with killing the person they attacked in town;
Return items after the stupidly low sentence time;
Sit en mass outside the appropriate jail when a player is serving a stupidly low sentence time;
This sets up a situation where Tribunal allies have carte blanche in towns, where as if they are retaliated against the other person cops the full brunt of the 'law.' It's essentially the same kind of thing that Syndicate offers with a small twist.
Watcher:
Watcher can raid any cabal who is in a vendetta with one of their allies with no penalty;
Watcher can raid any cabal at any time with a 200% cooldown on the timer;
If you're going to roll up on Watchers, expect your home to be burnt to the ground while your out.
Savant:
Allies can cast/commune at 75% of normal cost;
Scroll/potions/wand shops offer a discount to Savant allies;
150% cost to enter the Mileu.
Warmaster:
Weapon/armor shops offer discount on items and pay more on sales to WM allies;
Free entry into the Mileu;
Town guards won't apprehend Warmaster allies due to affintiy of being in the military;
Cabal guards will not be aggro towards WM allies unless vendetta is in place with the players cabal. You still have to attack if you want the item.
Knight:
As someone said, free mounts from the Knight stables to any allies - this is somewhat minor...;
Mounts for the Knights allies give bonuses. Now I woudln't suggest mounted combat to all allies but.....
Bonuses such as lag reduction, increased regen and charge lands 100% of the time when using a Knight mount;
If that's too strong (which I don't think it is) then several mounts to choose from each granting a different set of bonuses.
Nexus:
None becauwe they seem to be perma allied wtih Syndicate :-P
Certain evil mobs are no longer aggro towards Nexus allies - predominantly lower level demons and perhaps undead eg Mydamml Keep;
That's not all of it. There are hardcoded benefits Syndicate's allies get from Syndicate activity:
1.When you bounty targets and they are collected, you get back the resources you invested i.e. Thulgan can put 10k CP bounty on Sylf and when Sylf gets collected, Thulgan gets those CP back. This allows to Syndicate allies to fill top three with bounties that are extremely fat. Only downside is that you must have a very large pool of CP to "invest".
If that's true, that really should be changed. It goes against what Syndicate is about. You should only get a refund if the contract is not fulfilled...and even then, not a 100% refund IMO. However, this could be balanced so that allied cabals get 100% refund on non-collected and non-allies get 80% returned (or something like that). Basically, if what F0xx says is true, I think that needs toning. I was not aware of this perk.
Give stupidly low sentences when allied players attack and/or kill other players in town;
Don't attempt to hunt players down until they 'finish' with killing the person they attacked in town;
Return items after the stupidly low sentence time;
Sit en mass outside the appropriate jail when a player is serving a stupidly low sentence time;
This sets up a situation where Tribunal allies have carte blanche in towns, where as if they are retaliated against the other person cops the full brunt of the 'law.' It's essentially the same kind of thing that Syndicate offers with a small twist.
I dislike these just because it somewhat goes against the whole 'Order' aspect of Tribunal. Sure there is the opertunity for a 'corrupt official' but all in all Order has to be maintained at a point.
I would suggest bringing back (I think this was a thing back in 1.0...WAY back when) the ability to 'deputize' allies. Say Nexus and Tribunal are allies, the Tribunal could deputize a Nexus giving them the ability to assault and capture anyone who is wanted regardless of if they are in town or not, giving them cps for the capture and what not.
(if there was a change in game mechanic... raiding cities could make it easier for the warring cabals to plant their flag in said cities, thus being allied with Watcher (not applying this to Syndicate) would provide a noticeable benefit)